According to recent rapid expansion of broadband environment, a distribution service such as a music distribution service and a moving picture distribution service with which a user can receive and reproduce contents from a service server on the Internet has been widely available. It is expected that such distribution service will be applied to print content from now on and developing to a print content distribution service in which print content is distributed from a server on the Internet to each terminal.
An existing print device such as an inkjet printer is connected only to a control device such as a personal computer (PC) via a Universal Serial Bus (USB), a parallel bus or the like and operates as a slave device of the control device. In the existing print system in which the print device is the slave device, the print device does not directly obtain print content on a device other than the control device.
Consequently, when the print content distribution system is applied to the existing print system, it becomes a print system in which the control device (PC, Set Top Box (STB), cellular phone, etc) firstly receives the print content and the print content is transferred and printed in the print device. In this case, the control device needs to bypass the print content so that it causes an increase of processing loads and network loads on the control device.
On the other hand, following a recent introduction of an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) which widely expands an address space, development of products such as home appliances and car navigation systems having a function of network connection has been promoted. As for the print device, conventionally a part of the print device for office use had the function of network connection. However, in consequence with the prevalence of the IPv6, it is expected that the time for the print device to commonly have the function of network connection will come.
Thus, when the print device has a network communication function, in the print content distribution service, it is most applicable to have a system configuration in which the print device receives content directly from the service server based on a print instruction transmitted from the control device (PC, STB, cellular phone) in order to reduce workloads of the control device (e.g. refer to Olof Larsson, et al., “BASIC PRINTING PROFILE” Interoperability Specification (Draft), Revision 0.95a (pp. 57-58), Oct. 5, 2001, (online) The Bluetooth SIG, Inc., Oct. 25, 2002 (access date), URL: http://www.bluetooth.org/docs/BPP—0—95a.pdf). With reference to FIG. 1, this print system is explained.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional print system. It shows an example that the conventional print system is a print system which is constituted of three devices including a control device 0001, a print device 0002 and a service server 0003, in which a digital television which is the control device 0001 and a print device 0002 are connected via IEEE 1394. Also, the print device 0002 and the service server 0003 are connected via the internet 0005.
At an initial state, the service server 0003 holds print content that can be specified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) (A). The control device 0001 receives an instruction from a user, notifies the print device 0002 of URL(A) which is a URL of the print content and instructs to print the print content at the URL(A) (FIG. 1 (1)). The print device 0002 which received the print instruction accesses the service server 0003 based on the URL(A) and requests the print content (FIG. 1 (2)). The service server 0003 transmits the print content that can be specified by the URL(A) to the print device 0002 (FIG. 1 (3)). When the print device 0002 finishes printing the print content received from the service server 0003 (FIG. 1 (4)), it notifies the control device 0001 of the end of the printing (FIG. 1 (5)).
As described above, in this system, the control device 0001 does not need to bypass the print content so that it only transmits a print instruction and waits for the completion notice. The print device 0002 receives the print content directly from the service server 0003 and prints the content. Thus, there is no bypass of the print content by the control device so that the workloads on the control device 0001 are reduced as well as the network workloads.
Here, when a distribution of charged content is realized in the system configuration shown in FIG. 1, the charged content transmitting between the service server 0003 and the print device 0002 passes through the Internet 0005. Therefore, the charged content faces dangers such as an illegal access to the service server 0003 and a tapping of the content by a malicious third party. Consequently, it is necessary to establish a secure communication path between a separate service server 0003 and the print device 0002 in order to protect the content. Specifically, following functions are necessary such an authentication function for managing access to content in order to realize a charging and the like, and a communication path encryption function for protecting the content transmitting through the communication path and authentication information which requires secrecy from being leaked to the third party.
As the secure communication paths using the conventional technology, there are a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and a Transport Layer Security (TLS) (e.g. refer to T. Dierks and C. Allen, “Request for Comments: 2246, The TLS Protocol Version 1.0,” January 1999 (online), The Internet Engineering Task Force, (access date) Oct. 25, 2002, URL: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2246.txt). The SSL is a communication path encryption technology proposed by Netscape Communications Corporation based on a public key encryption method. It is a technology used widely in data communication such as HTTP and FTP on the Internet. Also, the TLS is a technology which added a few improvements to the SSL as a base.
Furthermore, as an authentication technology, conventionally an authentication technology using authentication information composed of a pair of a user ID and a password is known in general. Specifically, a user registers in advance the authentication information composed of a pair of a user ID and a password at the service server. The terminal device such as PC or DTV at the user side transmits the registered authentication information to the service server in order to access charged content managed in the service server. The service server verifies the authentication information sent from the user with the registered authentication information, recognizes the user as an authorized contract user, and permits the user to access the content when both of the pieces of information match one another as the result of the verification. On the other hand, when the information pieces do not match one another as the result of the verification, the service server transmits to the user an indication that the sent authentication information does not match with the registered authentication information, and refuses to allow the user to access the content. Accordingly, access to content by an unauthorized user who does not know the authentication information registered at the service server can be prevented. In addition, a user ID or a device ID (e.g. ID of DTV) included in the authentication information can be cheated by anyone if the person knows the ID so that the unitary use of the information is insufficient as the authentication information. However, it is used for the purpose of easily specifying one who accesses the server. For example, the service server extracts the user ID or the device ID from the authentication information and specifies the user or the device and performs a process such as charging the access to the content after the authentication with the authentication information composed of a pair of an ID and a password.
However, at this moment, there is no print system or print device that can instruct to obtain the print content (data) using a communication path by establishing the secure communication path between the print device and the service server by the printer.